I met up with Grubb Street at Suzzallo hall, wrote furiously for a few hours, and am entirely satisfied with the progress. I have one set of issues remaining to resolve (curse you, chapter 40!), and then the draft it done.

Tonight, I'm off to see "The Circus," starring Charlie Chaplin. It's playing at the Neptune on 45th as part of the Seattle Film Festival, and Chaplin won an Oscar for it in 1928, the first year of those awards.

I've been a fan of silent films as long as I can remember. My father often brought home Super 8 films from the library, so I've seen dozens and dozens of Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy, and Charlie Chaplin shorts and features. Great stuff. I was quite angry when I learned how Chaplin was treated by the United States in later life (he moved to Switzerland to escape the controversies that dogged him), but he had the last laugh, earning a knighthood, returning to accept a lifetime achievement Oscar, and dying in his sleep of old age. Lucky man.